POS0073-HPR APPLICABILITY OF THE DIGITAL PHYSIOTHERAPY INTERVENTIONS FOR RHEUMATIC AND MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS IN TURKEY: A MIX METHOD STUDY
Authors: N. Sermenli Aydin, C. Torlakcik, E. Tonga
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> Physiotherapy and rehabilitation have been impacted by digitalization in the healthcare system [1]. For the transfer and dissemination of the developed digital health interventions (DHI) to the clinic, the perspectives of physiotherapists—one of the stakeholders in the rehabilitation process—on digital health practices are essential [2]. <h3>Objectives</h3> The aim is to determine the usability of digital health technologies in rheumatic and musculoskeletal physiotherapy and rehabilitation and determine the perspective of physiotherapists, perceived facilitating factors and barriers. <h3>Methods</h3> Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for this study. In the qualitative part of the study, 21 physiotherapists who are working with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions were included in the study. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 7 physiotherapists in each group. In the quantitative part of the study, 393 physical therapists were reached through the snowball sampling method. A questionnaire created by the research team was conducted. The SPSS22 program was used for quantitative data statistics, while the NVivo12 program was used to analyze the qualitative data. <h3>Results</h3> Following the focus group interviews, five themes emerged. The themes are as follows: Digital health applications used by physiotherapists for self-educational purposes, DHI used in physiotherapy, barriers to the use of DHI in physiotherapy, benefits of using DHI in physiotherapy, and popularizing the use of DHI in physiotherapy. The themes are summarized in Table 1. The participants reported utilizing DHI in assessment (29.3%), treatment (34.4%), and follow-up (44,8%). The main perceived benefits to use of DHI in physical therapy settings were facilitating patients' follow up (90.8%), and participation (81.7%). The main perceived barriers to use of DHI in physical therapy settings were high cost (77.8%), and lack of appropriate DHI to Turkish population (71.5%). <h3>Conclusion</h3> This study is the first to present the views of physiotherapists in Turkey on the use of DHI in physiotherapy. Participants are willing to use digital health interventions, but due to obstacles that prevent their use in physiotherapy, there are still some limitations on their use. They contend that for DHI to be widely used, physiotherapists and patients must be educated about them, and the state must support their use and multidisciplinary development. <h3>References</h3> [1]Estel, K., Scherer, J., Dahl, H., Wolber, E., Forsat, N. D., &amp; Back, D. A. (2022). Potential of digitalization within physiotherapy: a comparative survey. BMC health services research, 22(1), 1-11. [2]Blixt, L., Solbrække, K. N., &amp; Bjorbækmo, W. S. (2021). Physiotherapists' experiences of adopting an eTool in clinical practice: A post-phenomenological investigation. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 37(9), 1005-1017. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> NIL. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.